Selecting a Payment Orchestration Provider

What are Payment Orchestration Platforms (POPs)?

Payment orchestration providers, also known as payment orchestration platforms (POPs), offer a range of payment and routing services. Choosing the right POP, whether that is a more ‘black box’ experience where they hold the payment gateway relationships, or one that offers a greater depth of flexibility in subscriptions management or treasury and payables management, is based on the needs of the merchant’s business. 

Many offer the option to create either simple or complex routing logic within a merchant’s systems if they have the engineering team to accomplish it. However, “orchestration” is a broad term that can include solutions that offer a wide set of features.

These platforms could assist with payments in one, or many, of these areas:

• Centralized payment processing: Managing multiple payment gateways, acquirers, and payment methods from a single platform.
• Payment routing optimization: Routing transactions to the most efficient and cost-effective gateway based on real-time data and rules.
• Fraud prevention and risk management: Implementing fraud detection tools and security protocols to protect against unauthorized transactions.
• Subscription management: Automating recurring billing, managing dunning processes, and offering flexible subscription models.
• Data security and tokenization: Tokenizing sensitive payment data and storing it in a secure vault to minimize risk and comply with security regulations.
• Integrations and reporting: Integrating with existing systems and providing comprehensive reporting and analytics across the payment stack

Factors to Consider When Selecting Payment Orchestration Providers

While each merchant has unique requirements for seeking a payment orchestration solution, any solution that manages payments should at least meet the basic compliance, security, and processing requirements.

Questions you should ask as you seek a provider include:

• Are the payment methods my customers prefer offered? Does the provider offer access to the full range of payment methods, including alternative payments and international options?
• Which fraud detection and prevention tools are included? Ensure these measures are effective at minimizing chargebacks and protecting your business.
• Does the solution route transactions to the most efficient and cost-effective path? 
• Does the platform provide comprehensive data and reporting insights? Be sure you are able to track trends, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions from the data.
• Can the platform seamlessly integrate with your existing (and prospective) business systems?
• Can the platform handle your current and projected transaction volume? Be sure the solution can do so without bottlenecks or performance issues.
• Does the provider offer a flexible API? If you need to customize the payment experience and build a unique workflow, a solid API is a must.
• Is the pricing model transparent, budget-friendly, and predictable? Are the transaction fees cost-effective?
• Is the provider PCI-DSS compliant?
• What security measures are used to protect your data and prevent breaches?
• What level of customer support does the provider offer?

What are the Top Providers?

Orchestration platforms range from turnkey, basic options to fully flexible and customizable developer-focused solutions.

Developer-friendly Customizable Solutions

Corefy: A developer-friendly platform with strong API capabilities and advanced fraud prevention features, catering to businesses with complex payment needs.

Spreedly: Developer-friendly platform with strong API capabilities and customizable tokenization solutions. A good choice for tech-savvy businesses.

Platforms Specializing in Subscription Management

Recurly: Leading player in subscription management, providing customizable recurring billing solutions, dunning automation, and strong analytics.

Primer.io: Primarily focused on subscriptions and recurring billing, offering flexible plans, advanced revenue modeling, and integrations with popular platforms.

Rebilly: Caters to high-growth subscription businesses, providing sophisticated revenue recognition capabilities, dunning automation, and advanced reporting.

Platforms Specializing in Alternative Payments

Akurateco: Offers flexible payment processing solutions for various industries, including omnichannel capabilities, fraud prevention, and secure tokenization.

BridgerPay: Focuses on simplifying payment integrations for marketplaces and platforms, simplifying complex scenarios and revenue sharing models.

Paytiko: Focuses on simplifying payment solutions for e-commerce businesses, offering fraud prevention, PCI compliance, and integrations with popular shopping carts.

Bridge Payments: Specializes in connecting businesses with regional and alternative payment methods, catering to specific geographies and financial inclusion.

Platforms Specializing in Cross-border Payments

Planet Payment: Affordable solutions for smaller businesses with a focus on emerging markets. A cost-effective option for basic payment processing needs.

Payoneer: Specializes in facilitating cross-border payments and global payouts, offering solutions for freelancers, marketplaces, and international businesses.

Gr4vy: Specializes in simplifying complex payment scenarios, particularly cross-border payments and subscriptions, with strong fraud prevention and risk management tools.

BlueSnap: Experienced provider offering global payment processing, risk management, and currency conversion, ideal for B2B and international businesses.

Platforms Specializing in Omnichannel Payments

Nexio: Established player providing integrated payment solutions, including acquiring, fraud prevention, and reporting, across various industries.

Ikajo: Offers flexible payment orchestration solutions, including subscriptions, card tokenization, and risk management, with a focus on ease of integration.

Magnius: Offers comprehensive payment orchestration solutions with a focus on omnichannel support, global reach, and risk management tools.

Platforms Specializing in Hyper-Growth 

Checkout.com: Growing rapidly, boasts a user-friendly platform with competitive pricing, international reach, and support for emerging payment methods like e-wallets.

IXOPAY: Global payment platform providing acquiring, card issuing, and payment orchestration solutions with real-time reporting and analytics.

Hyperwallet: Provides secure and scalable global payout solutions for gig workers, marketplaces, and platforms, simplifying mass payouts and compliance.

Orchestrate Payments, Securely

Regardless of the orchestration direction you take, an important first step in implementing payments orchestration is to get control of the cardholder data. This can be done by either achieving PCI Level compliance and owning the cardholder data environment, choosing an orchestration partner that can do this, or by using a third-party tokenization provider like Basis Theory. 

By using a tokenization provider merchants can ensure that:

• PII is maintained in the tokenization provider’s secure vault, keeping their own systems out of PCI-DSS scope
• All customer sensitive data is secure, yet available for merchant use
• Customer cardholder data (CHD) can be used to process transactions across a functionally infinite range of payment methods and providers

The merchant simply uses the tokenization provider’s API to collect and store customer PII and CHD, then instructs the tokenization provider to transmit that information as needed to the preferred downstream payment processors and payment gateways.